A United Nations committee has for the first time explicitly declared the right to a healthy environment a children's right
Against the backdrop of the climate crisis and environmental destruction, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has clarified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee today published guidelines for states to protect children's right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment: the so-called General Comment No. 26. Terre des Hommes supported its development as an official partner.
GENEVA/NEW YORK, August 28, 2023 – For the first time, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has explicitly defined every child's right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. The Committee published a comprehensive declaration outlining the obligations of all signatory states to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This convention, adopted in 1989 and ratified by 196 states, establishes general children's rights such as the right to life, survival, and development, and the right to health. A "General Comment " explains what these rights mean for a specific topic or area of legislation. The recently published "General Comment No. 26 on children's rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change" explicitly addresses the looming climate catastrophe, species extinction, and ongoing environmental pollution. Against this backdrop, the document identifies necessary countermeasures to protect children's lives and future prospects. Philip Jaffé, a member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, stated:
“Children around the world are leading the fight against climate change. They have called on their governments and businesses to take action to protect their future – and therefore the future of the entire planet. With General Comment No. 26, the Committee on the Rights of the Child not only amplifies their voices, but also clarifies their rights regarding their environment. States should respect and protect these rights. Together and immediately!”
David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, commented: “This General Comment is a crucial step: it recognizes that every child on Earth has the right to live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Governments must now urgently take action to give life to these inspiring words and combat the global environmental crisis.”
General Comment No. 26 clarifies, among other things, that states are not only responsible for stopping current violations of children's rights, but also for preventing future violations resulting from their current actions—or inaction. Furthermore, it emphasizes that states can be held accountable not only for environmental and climate damage within their borders, but also beyond their territory. Particular emphasis is placed on the disproportionately greater harm suffered by children who are already disadvantaged due to their environment or circumstances.
States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child are urged to take urgent and immediate action to protect the climate and environment. This includes phasing out coal, oil, and natural gas and transitioning to renewable energy sources, improving air quality, ensuring access to clean water, converting industrial agriculture and fisheries to healthy and sustainable food production, and protecting biodiversity.
The guidelines stipulate that children's perspectives must be considered in environmental policy decisions and emphasize the crucial role of environmental education. Children should be empowered to take action, advocate for their interests, and protect themselves from environmental damage. General Comment No. 26 (GC 26) is itself the result of global participation from all generations, including extensive consultations with Member States, international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, and especially with children.
Joshua Hofert, a member of the board of terre des hommes Germany, explained: “Children are the least responsible for the climate crisis, yet they suffer the most from its consequences: Every year, 1.7 million children under the age of five lose their lives due to preventable environmental damage. And yet, children and young people are underrepresented in virtually all environmental policy decision-making processes. With General Comment No. 26, we tried to change precisely that: With more than 16,000 contributions from children in 121 countries, it was one of the most comprehensive child participation processes at the UN level to date. As terre des hommes we are proud to have coordinated this extraordinary process with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.”
As an official partner of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, terre des hommes involved children from all over the world significantly in shaping and developing the text through online consultations.
A dedicated advisory board – consisting of 13 young climate and children's rights activists – worked closely with the Committee on Children's Rights throughout the entire development process. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also participated as a member of the Advisory Board for the General Comment, providing technical expertise and helping to gather the opinions of children from around the world.
A member of the so-called "Children's Advisory Team," 16-year-old Āniva from the Pacific Islands, commented: "For me, this General Comment represents global change. And this change is necessary so that we can finally make progress in tackling environmental problems and taking global action to protect our planet—for our generation and for future generations. The General Comment gives children a stronger foundation in international law to enforce our right to a healthy environment. And more is being done worldwide for people to protect their environment through human rights. GC26 is an important building block in this."
In the coming months, General Comment No. 26 is intended to further define children's rights obligations in the fight against climate change within the framework of the Paris Agreement. Among other things, the document stipulates that the protection of children's rights must be reviewed and ensured in all environmental laws, policy decisions and projects, regulations, budgets, and other decisions. States must report regularly to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the progress they have made in protecting children's environmental rights.
“Children’s needs are still being neglected in climate finance and policy decisions,” said Paloma Escudero, UNICEF Special Adviser on Children’s Rights and Climate Policy. “This must change. General Comment No. 26 is an urgent appeal to states to prioritize all measures that affect the protection of childhood in the context of climate change, such as children’s rights to education, clean water, and a healthy environment. The climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis. Every government has a duty to protect the rights of every child in every corner of the earth, especially the rights of boys and girls in countries that have contributed the least to this problem but are most exposed to dangerous floods, droughts, storms, and heat.”
Contact:
For press inquiries:
Stephan Pohlmann ( terre des hommes Germany)
+49 541 7101 135 / s.pohlmann@ tdh.de
Tess Ingram, UNICEF New York, tingram@ unicef.org +1 934 867 7867
A child-friendly version of General Comment No. 26 will be published on September 18, 2023, as part of the official presentation, which will take place during the next meeting of the Committee in Geneva, Switzerland.
For interview requests:
Online interviews with members of the Children's Advisory Team (aged 11 to 17 from 13 countries) can be arranged through Katie Reid, Environmental Rights and Children's Participation Officer (and contact person for children's participation in General Comment No. 26) at terre des hommes Germany: k.reid@tdh.de , in Geneva, Switzerland. Representatives from terre des hommes and UNICEF are also available.
About Terre des Hommes
Terre Terre des Hommes International Federation is a non-governmental organization that works for children's rights and just, sustainable development through 730 projects in 67 countries. Terre des Hommes is particularly committed to rights-based policies in all areas of children's lives.
(About CERI)
The Children's Environmental Rights Initiative (CERI) is a coalition under the patronage of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, David Boyd. It brings together children and young people, activists, children's rights organizations, experts, government actors and political decision-makers from around the world who are working together to ensure that children's fundamental right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is recognized and fulfilled.
CERI enables coalition members to collectively amplify the voices of children and young people most affected by environmental damage and climate change, while simultaneously strengthening the capacities of national policymakers to implement child-friendly environmental policies and introduce new standards and practices into multilateral processes. The coalition's work is supported by its own secretariat.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world's most challenging places to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. In more than 190 countries and territories, UNICEF works for every child, everywhere, to create a better world for all.